Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Former Canadian Football League player arrested

Former minor league football player, who scouts said would likely join the NFL, was arrested Saturday for allegedly trying to sneak marijuana into the Correctional Industrial Facility in Pendleton.The Indiana State Police arrested former Canadian Football League player LaDrelle M. Bryant, 24, Muncie, on suspicion of trafficking with an inmate, a Class C felony, and possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor.Bryant, a former standout football player at Muncie Southside High School, is being held in the Madison County Jail on $10,000 bond. He faces two to eight years in prison if convicted on the Class C felony.According to the probable cause affidavit filed with the charges, prison guards discovered something in Bryant’s pants pocket while conducting a pat-down before allowing him to enter.Bryant pulled the object out, but it fell on the floor. While picking it up, he told the guard it was trash and threw it away, according to the affidavit.The guard finished patting down Bryant and he was allowed to continue going into the prison. After he left, the guard checked the trash and discovered the object was a cellophane wrapper with “plant material in it,” according to the affidavit.During questioning, Bryant said he didn’t know what the object was. He said he bought the pants at a garage sale and didn’t know there was anything in the pocket. But as the questioning continued, Bryant said it was old marijuana and he forgot that he had it on him.Bryant denied he was trying to bring the marijuana to the inmate he was visiting. The inmate’s name wasn’t included in the affidavit, and prison officials couldn’t immediately identify the person.The exact amount of marijuana wasn’t included in the affidavit, but it is less than 30 grams.Madison County Magistrate Stephen Clase entered an automatic not-guilty plea on Bryant’s behalf and approved the appointment of a public defender during Bryant’s initial court appearance Monday.Bryant had played indoor football with the Evansville BlueCats until about two weeks ago, he said during the arraignment.Rob Rexing, team spokesman, confirmed that Bryan had been a defensive back for the team, but didn’t immediately know why Bryant was no longer with the team.Before joining the BlueCats for the 2007 season, Bryant played one season as defensive back with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders. He had been a standout player at Indiana State University before joining the Stampeders, according to a BlueCats press release announcing his joining the team.